Listen: The Pretenders Share “Traditional” Song with “A Love”

Chrissie Hynde admits that The Pretenders‘ new single “A Love,” is the “most traditionally Pretenders-sounding song” on the band’s upcoming album, Relentless, out September 15. It’s “in the vein of ‘Kid’ or ‘Talk of the Town’ or any of the mid-tempo ones over the years,” added the rocker.

I’m not scared of you / I’m scared of me right here / I’m scared of taking stuff / I give up every year, opens Hynde on “A Love,” coasting along the love-drifted track. The new song is accompanied by a video visualizer featuring footage of the band’s recent run of shows at more intimate venues in London.

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“I often see love/relationships almost in the same vein as drug addiction,” said Hynde of the song, a follow-up to the band’s lead single “Let the Sun Come In,” released in May.

Hynde added, “Although, having said that, I know I am jaded and cynical.”

Produced by David Wrench (David Byrne, Manic Street Preachers, Courtney Barnett) at Battery Studios in London, Relentless also marks the second songwriting collaboration by Hynde and Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne, following Hate For Sale.

Dubbed “The Pretenders Collective,” the album also features bassist Dave Page, Chris Hill on double bass, drummer Kris Sonne, and Carwyn Ellis on keyboards and guitar.

The 12-track album also features Radiohead and The Smile’s Jonny Greenwood, who contributes the string arrangement and conducted the 12 Ensemble on the closing track “I Think About You Daily.”

“I met Jonny a couple of times and we’re obviously big fans of him because he’s done some incredible music over the years,” shared Hynde in a previous statement. “I saw him at the Phantom Thread premiere where the film was running on screen with a live orchestra playing. And we spoke afterward and he expressed an interest in doing something one day. I was thrilled and very surprised. So when we had the idea of getting strings on ‘I Think About You Daily,’ he was the first choice. Legend.”

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Relentless also marks the band’s first with Rhino Records and their return to Warner Music Group. The band was signed to Sire more than two decades ago by the late Seymour Stein.

In 2021, Hynde released a collection of Bob Dylan covers, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, along with a film documenting the making of the album, Tomorrow is a Long Time.

In support of Relentless, The Pretenders kicked off an initial run of shows in the U.K. and Europe from May 12 through July 11, including dates with Guns N’ Roses. The tour will continue into August through October, including a performance at Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival on October 1.

‘Relentless’ Track list:

1. “Losing My Sense Of Taste”
2. “A Love”
3. “Domestic Silence”
4. “The Copa”
5. “Promise Of Love”
6. “Merry Widow”
7. “Let The Sun Come In”
8. “Look Away”
9. “Your House Is On Fire”
10. “Just Let It Go”
11. “Vainglorious”
12. “I Think About You Daily”

Photo: Ki Price / Courtesy of Big Hassle Media